Natural radioactivity in various surface waters in Adana, Turkey

Gross α and gross β activities of 30 different water samples collected from sea, lake, river and tap waters in Adana were determined. The instrumentation used to count the gross α and gross β activities was an α/β counter of the low background multiple detector type with 10 sample detectors (Berthold LB770). The average measurements were 0.0096 Bq/l, 0.086 Bq/l for gross alpha and gross beta, respectively in drinking water. The obtained results showed that, in general, natural activity concentrations of α and β emitting radionuclides in drinking water samples did not exceed WHO and ITS recommendations. To evaluate the annual effective dose equivalent of ingestion of these waters, a conservative dosimetric calculation was carried out using dose conversion factor suggested by the USA-EPA. Average annual dose of equivalent was calculated 0.005 mSv year− 1.